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Microsoft on Monday announced a new partnership with French startup Mistral AI, Europe’s answer to ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The American tech giant is looking to expand its footprint in the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence industry.
Microsoft said in a statement that it is investing 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion) in the 10-month-old business, which aims to develop “new commercial opportunities” and expand into global markets, but plans to expand further. Financial details were not disclosed.
The deal makes Mistral’s large-scale language models (LLMs), the technology behind its generative AI products, available on Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform, making it the second company after OpenAI to host LLMs on the platform. It becomes.
Microsoft will also expand the startup’s access to new customers by rolling out its ChatGPT-style multilingual conversational assistant, Le Chat, or Cat.
The Mistral AI logo will appear on your phone screen.
Anadolu | Getty Images
Microsoft President Brad Smith said Monday that the partnership is an “important” signal that the company supports European technology.
“This is one of the most important days for Microsoft in terms of technology support for Europe,” Smith told CNBC’s Karen Tso at the Mobile World Congress technology conference in Barcelona, Spain. I feel this from the bottom of my heart,” he said.
“We have agreed in principle to a long-term partnership with Mistral AI that will allow them to train and deploy next-generation models of AI on our AI data center, our infrastructure. “It will be effective immediately,” he added.
This comes as Microsoft faces pressure from EU antitrust regulators over a reported $13 billion investment in San Francisco-based OpenAI. Asked whether the investment was an effort to allay competition concerns, Smith said the company is focused on offering a diverse range of products.
“It’s important to show that this is not just about Microsoft technology, and it’s not just about American products. This will be a driver of technology, innovation and growth in Europe as well.”
Mr Smith said the investment in Mistral AI would also provide dedicated funding for research and development, including AI models for public sector services in Europe.
“I think Europe wants, needs and deserves a wide range of services,” Smith said.
Earlier on Monday, Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica signed a deal to integrate Microsoft’s Azure AI Studio into its digital ecosystem, Kernel, allowing staff to interpret data using generative AI language models. announced.
Rival tech giants like Google and Amazon are also ramping up their investments in AI amid growing enthusiasm for the emerging technology. Global markets hit record highs last week on the back of strong performance from AI chip maker Nvidia.
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